Ivory looked 100 percent recovered in his second game back from offseason surgery to repair a lisfranc fracture in his foot. He rushed for 67 yards on 15 carries and was the same punishing runner we saw last season.

Sproles leads the Saints with 793 combines yards from scrimmage and leads the NFL with 18 third-down receptions.

Thomas has sandwiched a pair of strong games against the Rams and Bucs around a team-wide dud in St. Louis. Against the Colts and Bucs, Thomas rushed for 123 yards on 18 carries (6.8 ypc) and caught nine passes for 93 yards.

Ingram, meanwhile, was the Saints' leading rusher and primary short-yardage ball-carrier before bruising his heel against the Colts. If not for the injury, he almost surely would have been the first Saints back to break the 100-yard rushing mark in a game this season. He finished with 91 yards on 14 carries.

"It's hard for four (running backs) to have a good rotation, and yet I would never say never," Saints coach Sean Payton said. "Some weeks it would just be because of other position injuries where you would look to in a game maybe carry more at that position. Three (running backs) are typically what we've carried on a game day, and yet we would certainly look at that each week with the opponent we're playing and maybe the plan we're putting in."

These things tend to work themselves out, especially at the running back position where the attrition rate is high. Ingram and Ivory were added to the injury report on Thursday with various tweaks. The make-up of the backfield on game days could be a week-to-week issue. But if all four healthy, the Saints likely will need to make one of the four inactive. The most likely candidate right now is Ivory since he missed most of the early part of the season and plays the same role as Ingram.

Long-term, the situation probably need to be addressed. Sproles, Thomas and Ingram are under contract through 2014. Ivory is signed through 2012. The Saints also have Joicque Bell, a back they like, on the practice squad. All have reasonable deals but the Saints might be wise to deal one of them while they're still healthy and marketable. This will be a position to watch in the offseason.

... and 10

1. Numbers game: When Jo-Lonn Dunbar picked jersey No. 56 back in 2008, he had no idea legacy he was inheriting. "They just asked me to pick a number and it was available," Dunbar said. Four-time Pro Bowler Pat Swilling wore No. 56 from 1986-92 He's was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1991 when he had 17 sacks. He remains the only Saints player to win the prestigious honor. Dunbar wore No. 40 at Boston College and No. 5 as an all-state running back and linebacker at Corcoran High School in Syracuse, N.Y. He's the 15th Saint to wear No. 56. All were linebackers except center Lee Gross, who had the jersey from 1975 to 1977.

2. Tweets of the week: "5 reasons I need a girlfriend. 5) lotion the part of the back I can never get too. 4) keep the new puppy I get while I'm at work. 3) wash the dishes after I cook dinner.. (it's a partnership right?). 2) rock my jersey specially bejeweled on Sundays. 1) make up the bed in the Mornin and make me smile every Mornin knowin I'm wakin up to a great woman (jus sayin it she Gf she gotta b wifey). ... O and possibly make me breakfast n bed on my off day (is that askin to much!?)" - Cameron Jordan (@camjordan94), 5:26 p.m., Wednesday.

3. Quote of the week: "It's a competitive game and I think we match evenly," We are almost like siblings. We are brothers. They know us, we know them. It's always going to be a hard-fought game no matter when we play, where we play. It's always going to be a good game." - Falcons defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux on the Saints-Falcons rivalry.

4. Didya notice?: The Dallas Cowboys reached an agreement on a three-year deal to hold their training camp in Oxnard, Calif., according to the Ventura County (Calif). Star. The Saints spent a week at the facility in August and team officials had privately expressed interest in holding at least part of their future camps at the site. If the Cowboys elect to spend only a portion of camp in Oxnard it would open the door for the Saints to possibly return for an abbreviated camp. "We would certainly open to having both the Cowboys and the Saints train in Oxnard," said Michael Henderson, Oxnard's general services superintendent. "I don't think that's completely ruled out."

5. Fact of the week: As we all know, the Saints don't run the ball much. When they do, they like to go to the left. According to ESPN.com NFC South blogger Pat Yasinskas, Darren Sproles averages 8.1 yards per carry and Pierre Thomas 7.2 yards per carry when running to the left. Those averages rank second and third in the league among running backs with at least 10 rushes in that direction. That's a testament to the blocking up front of left guard Carl Nicks and left tackle Jermon Bushrod.

6. Encouraging stat of the week: The Saints converted five of 10 third downs against the Bucs to maintain their league-leading conversion rate of 55.7 percent. What's impressive about the Saints' third down success is they rank only 16th in the NFL in first down success, averaging 5.7 yards a play. That means the Saints are converting third-and-mediums and third-and-longs at an inordinately high rate.

7. Disturbing stat of the week: Twenty of the 169 first downs Saints' opponents have gained this season have come via penalty. Only the Raiders (30), Cardinals (24) and Seahawks (21) have given their opponents more first downs. Five of the eight penalties the Saints committed last week vs. the Buccaneers resulted in Tampa Bay first downs.

8. What I liked from Week 9: The run defense was stout. The interior line has drawn a lot of criticism this season and justifiably so but it played well against the Bucs. LeGarrette Blount had a couple of nice runs -- a 27- and 15-yarder - but mostly was held in check. And the big stop on fourth-and-1 was a momentum-changer. It set the tone for the rest of the game. The Saints will need a similar effort this week against Michael Turner and the Falcons.

9. What I didn't like from Week 9: The Saints forced three fumbles and failed to recover of any of them. They now have forced 12 fumbles, which is tied for the eighth most in the NFL, yet recovered just four of the loose balls. There are only two explanations for this: 1.) bad luck; or 2.) to use a Gregg Williams' term, poor "populating to the football." Regardless, the Saints defense desperately needs to start recovering these fumbles they're creating.

10. Fearless prediction for Week 10: Remember when Sean Payton had the reputation as a riverboat gambler? Who can forget Ambush? Or, for other reasons, the Superdome Special? The Saints haven't tried anything tricky in awhile. Something tells me they're going to reach into their bag of tricks against the Falcons. It's been awhile since Payton has tried anything tricky. He's overdue.